Sunrise
by kateeveryday
Summary: Draco is slowly falling apart. Who will be there to pick up the pieces? One shot. R&R.


Draco Malfoy held his breath as he slid out from underneath the covers of his bed, hoping not to wake up the other occupant. He pulled his robes over his clothes that had been scattered around the dormitory and slipped out of the door into the common room. He released the air he had been holding in his lungs, and dropped into an armchair before the fireplace.

Thoughts skipped through his brain, and he savored each one, rolling them around in his mind. He always enjoyed these few quiet moments before everyone else was up. It gave him time to collect himself after the previous night's escapade. Last night it had been Tracey Davis. The night before it had been Pansy Parkinson, again.

The logs in the fireplace crackled, and Draco sighed. Last night was already just a vague memory in his mind. Just another notch in the proverbial bedpost.

Draco could hear people stirring in their dormitories. He wanted to avoid Tracey, so he slid out into the hallway before she could emerge from his dorm. The boys he shared the room with never said anything about his nightly visitors. Not when they had visitors of their own. But they never spoke to each other about them. There were no questions, no patting of backs, no congratulations.

Draco didn't speak to the girls he slept with until days after their shared night, and it was never about what they had done. He didn't want them to expect anything of him, and he had nothing to give them. He prided himself on being emotionless.

He made his way down to the Great Hall and took a seat at the end of the Slytherin table. He ignored Crabbe and Goyle, who were waving at him with food-splattered fingers to join them. He just didn't feel like being sociable lately. He wanted to be left alone.

It had been a year since his father had been found out as a Death Eater, and he was still in Azkaban. Draco wanted nothing to do with him. Sure, he loved to torture Potty and his Weasel friend, but he never wanted them dead. That's where he differed from his family. That's why none of them spoke to him anymore. Sure, he still lived with his mother (who hadn't been present when Lucius was apprehended) but they weren't close. She treated him like an intruder into his own house. Even the house elves had long since disappeared after Potter had let the first one go. It had all been downhill from there.

Draco picked his way through breakfast, forcing down a few bitter mouthfuls. He had become grotesquely skinny, as he had no desire for food anymore. It was a chore to swallow. The result had left him with a bony body and hollowed out eyes. He kind of liked it. People didn't approach him as much. They didn't want to catch whatever it was that Draco Malfoy had.

After breakfast he had Potions, usually his favorite class. Professor Snape had favored him even more than before, after the incident with his father. But Draco ignored him, choosing instead to sit in the back and doodle on his parchments.

Lunchtime came quickly, and Draco decided to stroll the grounds. Abandoning his school bag behind a particularly large bush, he headed towards the lake, where the Giant Squid was gliding on the surface, soaking up the sunshine. Draco slid his robes off of his slender shoulders and laid them out like a blanket, settling himself onto the grass. He decided to skip the rest of his afternoon classes. The teachers wouldn't care; they would pass him anyways. They pitied him. They all did.

Draco gazed up at the bright blue sky. Clouds were scattered here and there, and he entertained himself by making shapes out of them.

"Draco".

He looked up at the voice.

"Hermione."

"Who was it last night?" she asked. Her hands were placed on her hips, hair fluttering in the wind. With the sky framing her face, she kind of resembled an angel.

"Tracey Davis". He felt her sit beside him.

"When are you ever going to quit doing this to yourself?" He could feel her eyes on him.

"I don't know." Simple answer. He refused to give her what she wanted.

"They will never fill the emptiness. No matter how hard you try to fool yourself, they will never complete you."

_Like you would?_ He thought to himself. Out loud he said: "I'm not stupid, Granger. It's just something to do." _Or someone, rather._

"I wish you'd stop lying to yourself. You're slowly wilting away." She turned to look him in the eyes. "I'm worried."

He sat up. "Well you needn't be. I'm fine. I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that." She said. "I just doubt your ability to take care of yourself."

_Then take care of me._ "Cut it out with the lecture, Hermione. I've heard this all before."

"Fine." She said, standing up and brushing herself off. He had forgotten to offer her some of his robes to sit on. "Sorry I tried."

_Sorry I didn't try enough_, he thought, watching her walk away.

--------------------- 

It was nighttime again. Pansy approached him and slid her hands over his shoulders before he had a chance to push her away. He didn't want anyone tonight. He wanted to be alone.

He remained in the common room while everyone slowly ascended to his or her various dorms, outlasting even the resident night owl, Theodore Nott, who was followed shortly by Pansy. She shot Draco a nasty look before sneaking into Nott's room. He stared back at her blankly before looking away.

Draco stared into the fireplace, drawing his knees to his chin. He thought about his conversation with Hermione. He thought about the way her eyes had flashed as she asked about his latest conquest. He thought about the color of her lips as she spoke to him.

He didn't think of much else.

-----------------------

Winter came quickly. Draco found himself slipping into insomnia. He no longer invited girls up to his room. Instead he opted to stay in the common room until the first light of morning dawned bright and pink. Then he went to breakfast and pretended to eat while everyone sat chattering around him. Crabbe and Goyle no longer begged him to join them. They had been hanging around Nott lately. So had all of the girls.

Draco stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas break. No use going home, his mother wasn't there. She had owled him at Thanksgiving to tell him that she was divorcing Lucius and moving to France. Draco would stay at the manor with an aunt until his father was let out of Azkaban. And to behave and do well on his OWLs.

_OWLs were last year, Mum_. Draco thought resentfully. He recalled the lack of emotion felt when he threw her note into the fire. Not even a spark.

The castle was quiet, as most of the students had gone home for the holidays. Draco took to roaming the castle at night, mostly hovering around the Astronomy tower, gazing at the stars. Like tonight.

_There is Orion. Pisces. Seven Sisters_, he recited to himself. He blinked, wondering if he stared hard enough that the image of the stars would flash again behind his eyes, like a memory.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Soft fingers turned him gently around.

"You didn't go home?" he asked her. "Potter even did. Safe and all that."

"I'm still worried about you, Draco." Hermione said.

"Keeping you up at night?" he asked, sarcastic.

"Yes."

He blinked. "Why do you care so much?"

"Doesn't it just matter that I do?"

And her lips were on his, and as his eyes closed and his hands snaked around her waist, he could see Orion, Pisces, and the Seven Sisters reflected behind his eyelids.


End file.
